visitor center | Friends of St. Joseph Bay Preserves

August 2019

The St. Joseph Bay State Buffer Preserve Center buildings have been closed since Hurricane Michael in October. Four staff members work from a temporary office in a trailer on site.

Although the Buffer staff had to wait a while for a construction crew to be available, the crew has been working there for months now. Presently they are repairing the foundation under the Lodge and the other raised buildings. Reconstruction and repairs are coming along well. Preserve manager Dylan Shoemaker estimates re-opening of the buildings in September.

Trails at the Buffer Preserve and the Deal Tract are open to visitors. A walk might be nice, if you can find a cool day!

Friends Website Is Up Again
www.stjosephbaypreserve.org
Thanks to free help from Dusty Alford, one of the generous Directors of the Friends of St. Joseph Bay Preserves, our website is once again visible online!
Please note the slight change in the URL of the site: it is now www.stjosephbaypreserve.org without the final “s” on “preserve.”
The website does need some updating in places. We’ll get it all ship-shape soon.

Friends of the St. Joseph Bay Preserves Board Meetings
The Board of Directors of the Friends of St. Joseph Bay Preserves met informally on June 18, their first meeting since last September. Several people had spent months out of town because of damage to their homes. So the meeting was a heartwarming reunion.

Still there were elements of shock remaining from the hurricane that hit three days before our planned Fall Bay Day.

The Board is enthusiastic about planning the next Bay Day fundraiser, but with the buildings at the Buffer Preserve still closed, we can’t be sure of being ready for a Fall Bay Day by the second Saturday of October. We’ll be back for Winter Bay Day, though, on the second Saturday in February! Please plan to be with us on February 8!
The next Board of Directors meeting is to be held at the Buffer Visitor Center on Tuesday, August 20, at 4:30 p.m.

Sonny Chafin, Year-Round Volunteer for Friends and the St. Joseph Bay State Buffer Preserve, Died on July 7
Anyone who has spent time at the St. Joseph Bay State Buffer Preserve, at the Office or the Lodge or at Bay Days, probably has talked to Sonny Chafin. He was usually there helping out. He served some years as Treasurer of the Friends group and as a Director of Friends. He had a kindly face, a friendly presence, and usually an encouraging word. He was always willing to help. He’ll be missed more than he would have ever guessed.

Sonny was married to Sandra Chafin. They have three daughters and several grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Well, we have been busy at the Buffer Preserve. Prepping for prescribed burns and conducting actual Rx fires keep personnel busy, busy. Almost every bed has been full with researchers and/or interns. We are excited to have everyone and always enjoy hearing about their work.
A group of Boy Scouts planned a project involving weeding and putting out pine straw. Their efforts greatly helped our curb appeal in front of the Visitor Center. We always love having younger environmentalists-in-training at the Preserve.
Some of our latest visitors include a nest, eggs, baby birds, and of course, a mama bird. Right on our deck railing mama bird built a nest and laid 4 eggs. They hatched — much to our delight. We have loved watching them grow on a daily basis and will be sad when they fly away.
Our Visitor Center has been the site for several meetings for groups who do not have a meeting facility. Turtle Patrol groups and the Coastal Training Program from the Apalachicola National Estuarine Research Reserve met here and we are happy to be able to offer our site for their use.
T.S. Colin helped getting thinking about our Hurricane Disaster Plan. We are thankful it was just a mild test however we were happy to review our plan of action even we sincerely hope we never need it. Always be ready – in case – is our motto!
Friends of the Preserves are starting now to plan for October Bay Day. Want to be a part of this wonderful celebration of the Bay and Buffer Preserves? Just email us at admin@stjosephbaypreserves.org or talk to any board member. These board members each have a committee and they are always needing good help. John Ehrman, Dewey Blaylock, Gene Cox, Sonny Chafin, Jeff Ross, Lillian Hughes, Lynda White, Nancy Thomson, March Ard, Shannon Lynch make up this super star group of volunteers!